Photos by Tom Riles and Kevin Wing
By Dirck Edge
Photos by Tom Riles and Kevin Wing
The new touring chassis handles extremely wellBeautiful Sonoma, California was the staging area for our test of several 2009 Harley-Davidson models. Our focus was on the significantly redesigned touring bikes and the stunning new V-Rod Muscle.
It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the touring market to Harley-Davidson. According to Harley's statistics, it has led the industry in market share for the touring category 14 consecutive years. The touring category has received much attention and investment from Harley-Davidson's competitors in the past several years due to a growth in the segment. Aging baby boomers like touring motorcycles, and they have significant disposable income.
The H-D touring family, each of which received a common new chassis for 2009, includes the Road King, Road King Classic, Street Glide, Road Glide, Electra Glide, Electra Glide Classic and Ultra Classic Electra Glide. At first glance, these bikes appear very similar to the 2008 models, but the changes lurking beneath the surface are massive. The frame and swingarm have been completely redesigned to make them much stiffer and stronger. These bikes can now support much higher passenger and luggage loads. The way the engine is mounted in the new touring chassis has also been revised slightly to reduce vibration at idle.
Except for the Road King Classic, which continues to feature a 16 inch front wheel (that permits the wide white sidewall), all of the tourers receive 17 inch front wheels for 2009 with lower profile rubber. The rear wheel on these models is now much wider to accept a 180/65-16 tire. The wider rear tire not only adds visual impact, it contributes to the handling improvement brought about by the stiffer frame and swingarm. Suspension has been re-tuned to work with the new chassis, wheels and tires.
The exhaust on the new touring bikes has been re-routed to reduce heat exposure to both the rider and passenger, and all the bikes receive a lower final drive ratio to improve acceleration.
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Clean rear fender design |
The rear end of the touring bikes was slightly redesigned to accommodate the much wider rear wheel and tire. While designing a wider rear fender, Harley decided to clean up the look by eliminating the rear "hoop" visible on models not equipped with a Tour-Pak.
We spent quite a few miles in the saddle of several 2009 touring models, and the contrast between the handling of these bikes and the 2008 tourer we tested extensively last year is very dramatic. Chasing H-D press honcho Paul James and journalist Jamie Elvidge through some tight and twisty Northern California roads, it was hard to fault the new handling package.
The upgraded brakes with ABS introduced by Harley last year, together with a much stiffer chassis and more aggressive wheel/tire combo, allowed me to enter corners much deeper (braking later, and trail braking). The new bikes feel very planted mid-corner, and also seem to change direction easier.
Harley claims the bikes have a one degree greater lean angle this year, but it seems like much more. As James ground away at the hard parts of his V-Rod (forcing him to slow down), my Road King Classic never touched down in the corners -- I was quite surprised, and cannot remember riding a traditional cruiser with this much ground clearance.
We also had a chance to sample the aggressive-looking 2009 V-Rod Muscle. Designed to present a meaner, more raw appearance, the Muscle has a strong presence that takes styling cues, in part, from Detroit muscle cars.
2009 V-Rod MuscleThe Muscle combines a new air-box cover (where you would traditionally find the gas tank) that is broad and angular to give this V-Rod a totally different attitude. A new tail section has a minimalist design with a paper-thin LED tail lamp. The rear tire is a massive 240mm wide. The license plate is mounted to the side in order to keep the rear of the bike clean and custom looking.
The front of the V-Rod Muscle also has new design elements, including a new fender and LED turn signals integrated into the mirror stems. The wheels are also a new design for 2009.
Ergonomics on the Muscle differ from other V-Rods with a new seat, forward foot controls and a new handlebar. The dual exhaust balances the machine, and adds to the hot rod look.
When we rode the Muscle, we were reminded of the brilliance of the 1250cc Revolution v-twin, which has one of the broadest, sweetest powerbands found on any cruiser. On the Muscle, it is tuned to produce 125 horsepower and 85 foot/pounds of torque. Several journalists dipped into the 11 second range drag racing the Muscle at the press intro.
Given its outrageous styling, the V-Rod Muscle handles predictably, if not nimbly. The new V-Rod Muscle is available in Vivid Black, Brilliant Silver, Dark Blue Denim and Ret Hot Sunglo.
For additional details and specifications on the new Harley touring models and the V-Rod Muscle, visit Harley-Davidson's web site here.
